Late legendary cricket broadcaster Tony Cozier is being honoured with a tournament called the Tony Cozier 23 and Under Youth to Youth T-6 Cricket Festival scheduled to commence Sunday, September 27 at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).
It is the first of its kind and is expected to attract a total of 16 teams from across the island. The prize money includes $500 for first place and the Tony Cozier challenge shield, second place finishers will take away $250 and the losing semi-finalists will earn $125, tournament director Rodney Simpson said.
Simpson explained during this morning’s press conference held at the YMCA that from next year it would be turned into a regional competition because Cozier was well known throughout the Caribbean.
“This tournament this year would be a local tournament but next year we will make it a regional tournament because Tony Cozier is known throughout the Caribbean. We want to move the tournament to different parts of the Caribbean, we want to play it in Trinidad, Guyana, move it around.
Members of the Hamilton Lashley Human Development Foundation (from left) Leo King, communication officer Marc Laurent, Greggory Small, and the tournament’s technical director Rodney Simpson, presenting Natalie Linton, daughter of the late Tony Cozier, with a booklet for the tournament. (Picture by Morissa Lindsay).
“Through this first tournament, what we are going to do, is that we are going to use this tournament to select a Barbados team to represent Barbados out of this first tournament. So, this tournament is not a one-off and not a local tournament. We will use the local tournament as a nursery to play in the regional tournament,” Simpson said.
He explained that for this inaugural edition, the teams are going to be split into four zones, eight matches per day over a period of four Sundays. Two teams from each zone will advance through to the quarterfinal, semifinal and final. Individual prizes will also be given to the most outstanding performers.
Hamilton Lashley, chairman of the Hamilton Lashley Human Development Foundation who is hosting the event, said that it wasn’t by accident that they envisioned this tournament.
He explained that the idea for this cricket festival was born after his foundation looked across the landscape of Barbados and realised that young people needed intervention in their lives.
Therefore, Lashley, a former member of parliament and also a veteran community activist, along with his committee members, came up with this competition named after the former sports journalist, administrator, outstanding community practitioner and president of the Barbados Hockey Association.
“If we are going to tackle the serious issues confronting our young people in this country, we have to use practical and popular ideals, ideas and activities to at least bring what I like to call, a kind of equilibrium to the social landscape.
“We have decided as a committee that the best medium to use and the most attractive medium to use, contrary to what some social interventionist might think, is the element of sports. Sports continue to be underestimated and underrated in terms of the stabilising effect that it brings to the community, “ Lashley said.
The outspoken activist added that he believes the accolade of the highest order for the independence award in Barbados should have been accorded to Cozier when he was alive. And it is not just Cozier but many other outstanding sportsmen and women, he noted, that should have been honoured and recognised while they were still alive.
Cozier’s daughter Natalie Linton was present at the launch and spoke on behalf of her family including brother and cricket analyst Craig Cozier who is currently in Trinidad for the Caribbean Premier League.
Linton in expressing her gratitude said: “It is a pleasure for me to be here and for my dad to be honoured like this to have a competition named after him. I am certain with all the partners involved and Mr Lashley’s organisation and his team that it will be a successful tournament and go on for years.
Community officer of the Hamilton Lashley Human Development Foundation which has been in operation since 2006, Marc Laurent, added that it was an honour to recognise a stalwart such as Cozier and highlight his contribution not only to cricket but also to hockey.
“This foundation has facilitated a number of community events. I need to tip my hat to Mr Lashley because a lot of it has been done without the assistance of what we call social media now. This is an opportunity to highlight activities that the foundation has been taking part in over the last couple of years, and use this as a platform or springboard to get more individuals on board through traditional media. . .,” Laurent said.
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
